PHILADELPHIA — When the Phillies got rid of Joe Girardi before breakfast on Friday morning, they found themselves. They scored 26 runs in three games, their second-highest run total in three straight games this season. Except this time they did it without their starting second baseman, their starting shortstop, and with their everyday center fielder benched for the first two games.
Credit president Dave Dombrowski.
When he fired Girardi, it not only lifted a 10,000-pound burden from the shoulders of the team’s stars, it also shed light on how a long-dysfunctional Phillies franchise operates these days.
